Sliding lid box construction



Sepbzg, 1970 l 'GQ G, BERGH ETAL *l l3,531,012

f SLIDING LID-BoxcoNsTRUcTIoN v l Filed Dec. 31, 1968 'K v 3 sheetssmulGEORGE G. BERGH BY ROBERT G. BERGH sep1.2a, 1970 G, @,'BERGH HAL3,531,012

sLIDmG LID Box CONSTRUCTION' Filed Dec. 51. 1968 A s 'sheets-sheet 2INVENTOR,

GEORGE G. BERGH BY ROBERT G. BERGH sept. 29, .1970

G. G. BERGH ET AL SLIDING LID BOX CONSTRUCTION Filed Dec. 31, 1968 34FIGRTA 3 Sheets-Sheet :5v

INVENTOR.'

GEoRGE G. BERGH BY ROBERT G. BERGH United States Patent O 3,531,012SLIDING LID BOX CONSTRUCTION George G. Bergh and Robert G. Bergh, NorthAttleboro, Mass., assignors to Bergh Bros. Co., Inc., Attleboro Falls,Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Filed Dec. 31, 1968, Ser. No.788,251 Int. Cl. B65d 43/20 U.S. Cl. 220-41 9 Claims ABSTRACT F 'I'HEDISCLOSURE A box construction including a base covered by a lid. Thelid, which may be slid in either of two directions in order to exposeselected portions of the box interior, is slidably connected to anunderlying stop member. The stop member is in turn slidably connected tothe box side walls. The extent to which the lid may be moved in eitherdirection is limited by engagement of the stop member between one endwall of the base and the opposite end of the lid.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to boxconstructions having two-way slidable lids, and more particularly to animproved means for guiding and limiting movement of said lids.

The arrangements which have heretofore been proposed for slidablymounting box lids for limited two-way movement usually suffer from oneor more disadvantages. For example, most such arrangements employexposed tracks, stops and the like which detract from the overallappeaarnce of the assembled -box combination. Furthermore, the meansemployed to guide and slidably support the lids in known boxconstructions frequently lack sufcient strength and rigidity,particularly when the lids are opened to one extreme or the other.

These problems and disadvantages have now been overcome in a novelsmanner by the present invention, a primary object of which is theprovision of an improved means rfor slidably supporting, guiding andlimiting the movement of a two-way slidable box lid.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a two-way slidinglid arrangement wherein the means for guiding and limiting movement ofthe lid is completely hidden from view, regardless of whether the lid isopened or closed, the net result being a box construction having agreatly improved appearance.

Another object of the present invention is to slidably support and guidethe movement of the box lid relative to the base section by a novelmeans, the strength and rigidity of which is undiminished by fullydisplacing the lid in either direction.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a simple andefficient means for slidably connecting a box lid to the base section,which means greatly facilitates the task of finally assembling the baseand lid components.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention willIbecome more apparent as the description proceeds with the aid of theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of a box combination embodying theconcepts of the present inventiton, with the lid in an open positionexposing a portion of the box interior;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are sectional views taken along lines 2-2 and 3-3respectively of FIG. l;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view showing structural details of thebase section, lid and stop member;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the stop member;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the stop member;

FIGS. 7A-7C illustrate the method of assembling the box constructionherein illustrated.

Turning now to the drawings with initial reference to FIGS. 1 to 3,there is shown a box assembly generally indicated at 10 comprisedbasically of a base section 12 covered by a two-way slidable lid 14. Thebase section includes side walls 16a and 16b joined by end walls 18a and18b. In the embodiment herein illustrated, the side and end walls of thebase section are provide along their upper and lower edges with integralinwardly extending upper and lower flanges 20 and 22. A bottom member 23is supported on the lower flanges 22 of the wall members and is held inplace by means of inserts 26, the latter being in face-to-face contactwith the interior surfaces of the wall members and wedged between thebottom member and the upper flanges 20.

The lid 14 is constructed in a manner similar to that of base section12. More particularly, lid 14 is also provided with side walls 28a and28b joined by end walls 30a and 30b. The lid walls are each providedwith inwardly disposed upper and lower flanges 32 and 34. A planar covermember 36 is surrounded by the side and end walls of the lid and is heldin place by means of inserts 28 (see FIG. 3) wedged between the covermember and the upper flanges 32 extending inwardly rfrom the end walls'30a and 30b.

Lid 14 is slidably connected to an underlying stop member generallyindicated at 40. As can best be seen by further reference to FIGS. 5 and6, in the embodiment herein disclosed stop member 40 is divided into twosections 40'a and 40'b along a diagonally extending line 42. Thesections 40a and 40b are joined together along line 42 by means of atongue 44 on section 40a seated in a groove 46 in section 4011-. Tongue44 is provided with a generally concave recess or indentation 8 which isadapted to receive a shoulder 50 on the bottom 52 of groove 46 when thesections 40a and 40b are aligned in a mated relationship. Each of thesections 40a and 40b of the stop member are further provided along theirside edges with grooves 54a and 54h defined by a pair of parallelflanges 56 and 58. In the preferred embodiment herein disclosed, flange56 is of a greater width and extends laterally beyond the edge of lowerflange 58.

When the box components are fully assembled as shown in the drawings,the lid 14 is slidably connected to the stop member 40 by virtue of thefact that the lower flanges 34 on the lid side walls 28a and 28h extendinto the grooves 54a and 54b in the edges of the stop member. By thesame token, the stop member 40 is slidably connected to the base section12 by virtue of the fact that the upper flanges 20 on the base sidewalls 16a and 16h also extend into the same grooves 54a and 5411. As canbest be seen in FIGS. 2 and 4, this arrangement results in the lowerflanges 34 on the side walls 28a and 28b of lid 14 being inlface-to-face sliding contact with the upper flanges 20 on the sidewalls 16a and 16b of the base section 12. In other words, the lid isslidably supported on the base section, with the stop member 40 actingas a means for guiding and limiting the sliding movement of the lidrelative to the base section. Face-to-face contact between flanges 20and 34, is, however, not a strict requisite. Under certain conditions,it may be desirable to cock the lower flanges 20 up slightly, and/ or tocock the upper flanges 34 down slightly, so as to provide a line ContactIbetween both anges. This alternate construcf tion would have theadvantage of decreasing frictional resistance between the lid and basesection.

The foregoing construction permits the lid 14 to be slidably displacedrelative to the base section 12 in two directions along an axis parallelto the lbase side walls 16a and 16h. When the Ilid is in the fullyclosed position, the underlying stop member 40, its side grooves 54a and54b, and the flanges 20 and 34 on the base and lid are completelyconcealed. This presents an attractive appearance which has heretoforebeen unobtainable with conventional known sliding lid box constructions.

When it is desired to expose one area of the box interior, for examplethe area designated at A in the drawings, the lid 14 is simply pushedtowards the base end wall 18a. This initially causes the lid to beslidably displaced relative to stop member 46, with the lid flanges 34running in grooves 54a and 54h. Sliding movement of the lid relative tothe stop member will continue until such time as one end of the stopmember is contacted Vas at 60 (see FIG. 3) by the flange 34 on the end30b of the lid. Thereafter, the stop member will be carried along withthe lid until such time as the opposite end of the stop member iscontacted as at `62 by the upper flange 20 of the base end wall 18a. Atthis point, further movement of the lid towards base end wall 18a willbe prevented, thus exposing the interior portion A of the box interior.

It should be noted that even with the lid 14 in the open condition asshown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the stop member 40 remains completely concealed,thus presenting an extremely neat and attractive appearance. Also, itshould be noted that in the preferred embodiment herein disclosed, theflanges 20 and 34 on the base section and lid extend fully into and bearagainst the bottoms of the grooves 54a 54b in the side edges of stopmember 40. This effectively resists lateral shaking and twisting of thelid relative to the base section, even when the lid is in the maximumopen position.

When it is desired to expose the opposite interior area B of the box,the lid 14 is simply pushed in an opposite direction towards end wall18b. The lid will move freely over stop member 40 until such time as thestop member is engaged by the lower flange 34 on the end wall 30a of thelid. Thereafter, the stop member will be carried along with the lidacross the length of the box until it is contacted by the upper flange20 on the end wall 18b of the base section, at which point the lid willbe in the oppositely disposed extreme open condition with section A ofthe base completely covered and section B completely uncovered.

We have found that the use of a two part stop member 40 made up ofsections 40a and 4flb considerably simplifies assembly of the boxcomponents. This is illustrated by reference to FIGS. 7A-7B wherein theassembly of the box is illustrated schematically. More particularly, thefirst step in assemblying the box as illustrated in FIG. 7A wherein itcan be seen that the lid 14 is simply inverted and the two sections 40aand 40b positioned as shown in an offset relationship within theperimeter of lower lid flanges 34.

The next assembly step (FIG. 7B) involves superimposing the invertedbase section over the inverted lid section 14 to completely cover theoffset sections 40a and 40b of the stop member.

Thereafter, as is shown in FIG. 7C, the base section 12 is slid relativeto the underlying lid 12 in the direction indicated, thus causingsection 40b to 'be pushed into the interlocked position with section 40awith the shoulder 50 seated within the concave recess 48 in tongue 44.As section 40b is pushed into a mated position with section 40a, theshoulder 50 will contact and ride along the edge of tongue 44 as at `64.This will tend to push the two sections 40a and 40!) apart, thusexerting a slight spreading action on the side walls of the box and lid.This spreading action will increase until such time as the shoulder 50seats itself snugly in recess 48. When this occurs, the side Walls ofthe base section and lid will spring -back and the two sections of thestop member 40 will thereafter be held together. At this point, all ofthe box components are in 4 the interlocked relationship shown in FIGS.1-4 and the basic components are fully assembled.

Having thus described a preferred embodiment of the invention, it shouldnow be apparent to those skilled in the art that certain minor changesand modifications may be made without departing from the spirit andscope of the claims appended hereto. For example, a one-piece stopmember 40 may if desired be employed. Also, the stop -member may becomprised of a laminate of differently dimensioned layers rather than asolid piece with grooved edges. The box may take on any desiredconfiguration, as long as there are at least two sides parallel to theaxis along which the lid is to be slid. The basic construction of thelid and base section may also -be modified, such as for example byfixing the bottom and cover members 24 and 36 by means other than theuse of inserts 26 and 38. The only requirement is that there be somemeans on the base section and lid, such as the flanges 20 and 34, inslidable interlocked relationship with other means on the stop member40, such as the grooves 54a and 54b.

Finally, it should be understood that the terms base section and lid areto be construed in the broad sense as defining two slidable cooperativeelements enclosing the interior of a Ibox or similar container. Withthis in mind, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art thatthe lid 14 shown in the drawings might actually be part of the basesection of another box, thus making it possible to slidably interconnectone or more base sections in a stacked relationship.

It is our intention to cover these and all other changes andmodifications of the embodiment herein chosen for purposes of disclosurewhich do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinclaimed.

We claim:

1. A box comprising a base section, a lid, a stop member underlying saidlid, and means for slidably connecting said stop member to both saidbase section and said lid, whereby said lid may be slidably moved inopposite directions relative to said base section in order to exposeopposite portions of the interior of said base section.

2. The box claimed in claim 1 further characterized by said base sectionhaving a bottom member with oppositely disposed side and end walls, aflange coextensive with and extending inwardly from each of said sidewalls, said flanges being seated in grooves located in the edges of saidstop member.

3. The box claimed in claim 2 further characterized by said lid havinginwardly disposed flanges overlying the flanges on said side walls, theanges on said lid also being seated in the said grooves.

4. The box as claimed in claim 3 further characterized by said stopmember being divided into two sections along a line which is disposedangularly with respect to the grooves in the edges of said stop member,the said sections being joined along said line by means of a tongue onone section seated in a groove in the other section, and means on saidtongue and groove for inhibiting movement of one of said sectionsrelative to the other in a direction parallel to the said grooves in theedges of said stop member.

5. In a box assembly having a base section and a lid, means slidablyconnected between said base and said lid, said means comprising a stopmember underlying said lid, said stop member having oppositely disposededges parallel to oppositely disposed sides of said 'base and lid, agroove in each of said oppositely disposed edges, and inwardly disposedflanges on the sides of said base and lid, said flanges extending intosaid grooves to thereby provide a slidable connection between said stopmember and said base section and lid.

6. The means claimed in claim 5 further characterized by said stopmember being diagonally divided into two sections along a line disposedangularly with. respect to the said oppositely disposed edges, saidsections being joined along said line by a tongue on one section seated1n a groove in the other of said sections, and means for preventingmovement of one section relative to the other in a direction parallel tothe said oppositely disposed edges.

7. A box assembly comprising in combination: a base section having abottom and oppositely disposed parallel side Walls joined by end Walls;a lid overlying said base, said lid having side and end edgescoextensive with the upper edges of the side and end Walls of said basesection; `a stop member underlying said lid, said stop member havingoppositely disposed side edges, grooves in the side edges of said stopmember and, inwardly disposed flanges on the side walls of said basesection and the side edges of said lid, said anges being seated in thegrooves in the side edges of said stop member, thereby permitting saidstop member to be slidably displaced relative to said base section andlid in a direction parallel to the said flanges.

8. A box assembly comprising in combination: a base section having abottom with oppositely disposed side walls joined by end walls; a stopmember connected to said base section for movement along an axisparallel to said side Walls, the movement of said stop member relativeto said base section being limited by said stop member contacting saidend walls; and a lid overlying said stop member and having side and endedges, said lid `being connected to said stop member for movement inopposite directions relative to both said stop member and said basesection along said axis, the movement of said stop member relative tosaid lid being limited -by said stop member contacting said end edges.

9. The box assembly claimed in claim 7 further characterized by the sidewalls on said base section and the side edges on said lid havinginwardly disposed anges, and grooves in oppositely disposed edges ofsaid stop member, said flanges being slidably seated in said grooves tothus provide a means of slidably connecting said stop :member to saidbase section and said lid.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,012,033 8/1935 Atwater 220-41 X2,378,003 6/1945 Duell 220--41 X GEORGE E. LOWRANCE, Primary ExaminerU.S. Cl. X.R. 217-62

